What is the difference between Mobile Responsive and Mobile Friendly?

When HTML messages are sent from AWeber using our Drag & Drop Email Builder, they are "mobile responsive" by default. This is not to be confused with "mobile friendly" which would be a different display.

Why are AWeber messages mobile responsive? There are several reasons, but the primary reasons are:

Easier for subscribers to read on both desktops and mobile devices

Text, images, and buttons automatically adjust to fit

Multi-column layouts adjust to a single column (left column stacks on top of right)

Content is easy to access with both a mouse and a touchscreen

Here at AWeber we code our templates to be mobile responsive using a Media Query. That code will check the device being used to view the message, and adjust the format accordingly. Please keep in mind, however, that some apps will fall back to a mobile friendly version in the event that media queries are not supported on their end. The table below will show which apps will read that code, and which will not.

App Name

Media Query Support

iOS Devices

Yes

Android 2.3+

Yes

Gmail App (iOS, Android)

No

Yahoo Mail! (iOS, Android)

No

Outlook.com (iOS)

Yes

Outlook.com (Android)

No

Blackberry OS 6+

Yes

Samsung Galaxy S3+

No

Mobile Responsive

When viewed on mobile devices versus desktop clients, responsive email uses "media queries" to adjust the layout of the email message, font sizes, images, and buttons; in some cases, they can even be used hide or swap content. This means, in effect, there are two versions of the email message - the desktop version and the mobile version. Based on where the message is being opened, PC or mobile device, the code automatically adapts and optimizes to the specific screen size or viewing device.

Responsive email design is rapidly growing as more and more users open email messages on mobile devices. It should be noted that media queries and responsive techniques don’t work everywhere. Within AWeber, should a client or device not accept media queries, the message defaults to a mobile friendly (scalable design).

Mobile Friendly (Scalable Email Design)

Mobile friendly design can be defined as a single design that works well across both desktop and mobile email clients. There is no specific HTML/CSS code to adjust content or image sizes between the two platforms. Mobile friendly designs generally appear the same on a mobile device but 'scaled down" to about half the size.